


Stories Under Her Skin

by Melancholy_Daydreamer



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Mention of Death, Mention of Fatal Injury, Scars, Slice of Life, minor s4 spoilers, still learning how to tag things sorry aaaa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:07:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29609859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melancholy_Daydreamer/pseuds/Melancholy_Daydreamer
Summary: "Julia hadn’t noticed them before. Scars, some smaller than a fingernail and others stretching across Carmen’s skin like blankets of paper, littering across her back like a snowstorm, each having individual stories to tell."
Relationships: Julia "Jules" Argent/Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep
Comments: 1
Kudos: 86





	Stories Under Her Skin

**Author's Note:**

> This was a prompt from yyuppys on Tumblr! Post Below:  
> https://yyuppys.tumblr.com/post/643563452426813440/c-c-can-someone-please-write-or-draw-or-imagine-or 
> 
> I'm still quite new to the CS fandom but I really love Carulia so here you go

Sunday nights were always Carmen and Julia’s favorite time of the week. Just a day to relax and have time to themselves, without having to worry about fresh sightings of remaining VILE operatives popping up all over the globe. Sure, they loved their job and the perks that came with it, but some days it was just nicer to sit back and relax.

No VILE, no ACME, no criminals to chase. Just a quiet existence in a small and humble apartment in Poitiers. 

Some days it would rain, and they would watch the raindrops tumbling down on the glass doors to the balcony, and once the sky became clear again, they would open the glass doors and let the calming scent of petrichor flow into the apartment, and nothing else would be heard besides the rhythmic tap of rainwater on the roof and the distant traffic of the streets below.

Other days the sun would shine so bright, not even curtains or blinds would be enough to dim their light. On those days, they would go out and spend a day window shopping and talking in a little coffee shop down the road, where the atmosphere was calm and the air was thick with the scent of pastries and coffee.

Today, however, was a day to be spent inside, and the two were splayed beside each other on the bed, just a lazy afternoon talking about their lives. Julia loved to listen to Carmen talk about her travels and the people she’d met along the way, the experience that Julia missed thanks to her work and other complications. In return, Julia would talk about the simple things in life; things that Carmen didn’t have the time to enjoy as much as she’d love to, like a good book she couldn’t put down or her fascination with a new subject of history, which she could spend hours just explaining to her.

“... And that’s how I returned the Rosetta stone to the people, so the world could learn about the civilization of the ancient Egyptians, their culture and all.” Carmen finished, spreading her arms in an attempt to amplify the ending’s grandeur, although its effectiveness was smothered by the fact that she was laying down on the queen-sized bed they shared.

“Another priceless artifact saved by the legendary Carmen Sandiego,” Julia added, flashing a smile at her girlfriend, who only let out a chuckle of amusement. “Someday the world will know her name.”

“You flatter me, Jules,” The superthief stretched, preparing to get up. “But that’s enough stories for one day. I have to go exercise. Have to keep my body in shape, if you know what I mean.” She winked, rolling towards the edge of the bed, but Julia outstretched her arms and grabbed hold of Carmen before she could leave, pulling her back.

“Not so fast, Ms. Sandiego,” Julia said cordially, preventing the superthief from leaving by enveloping her in a hug. “Come and spend just a few more minutes here with me.”

“Jules, c’mon,” Carmen laughed, trying not so hard to struggle free from her grasp. “I want to be productive.”

“Just wait a little longer, please?”

“... Five minutes.”

Finally giving in, Carmen stopped struggling and curled up beside a triumphant Julia, feeling the ACME agent’s fingers running up and down her spine, a light tickling sensation that she couldn’t resist.

But as Julia began to trace the path up and down her spine again, She detected a raised bump on Carmen’s lightly tanned skin. Inspecting it closer, she realized that it was a scar. It wasn’t really a surprise, as she expected Carmen’s job to be far from safe with plenty of risks involved, but the more she looked the more she saw.

Julia hadn’t noticed them before. Scars, some smaller than a fingernail and others stretching across Carmen’s skin like blankets of paper, littering across her back and all across the rest of her body like a snowstorm, each having individual stories to tell.

As if sensing the surprise behind her discovery, Carmen spoke up. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just that- I’ve never noticed all these scars on you before.”

There was a brief bout of silence- Carmen seemed to freeze a little at her statement. She wasn’t facing Julia, so it was hard to read her expression. Had she said something wrong?

“Well, I guess it comes with the job,” Carmen said, rolling her shoulders back with a comfortable sigh. “Scuffles with the enemy team are inevitable, and accidents happen, I suppose.”

Julia gently traced two long, uneven gashes that stretched across Carmen’s side from her back to just above her stomach, flying across the side of her waist like twin shooting stars. “Where did these two come from?” Her voice was barely audible, as if speaking any louder would’ve caused the scar tissue to break.

“Busan, Korea. Couldn’t dodge Tigress’ claws fast enough.” She replied sheepishly, squirming a little as Julia planted a little kiss over them. “That tickles.”

“And this one?” A patch of skin was completely knitted over, over the left side of her collarbone, silvery-white in color, branching out like tree roots. 

“Kyiv, Ukraine.” Carmen winced a little at the memory of it, her voice lowered. “I got branded by a hot piece of metal when I fell on it during a scuffle.”

“This one?”

“Abuja, Nigeria. Got cut by tree branches when my glider malfunctioned...”

It went on for a few minutes, with Julia finding a scar and Carmen telling the story behind it. Small, defensive scars on her arms from protecting the face, larger ones from more major injuries such as falls, and ones inflicted with weapons. Julia felt rather ashamed about asking about each scar, especially since Carmen seemed to be either embarrassed about or had held particularly painful memories for a few.

However, the superthief didn’t seem to mind at all, having a relaxed tone to all her responses, and waving Julia off every time she apologized or frowned at a story. So she sat there, listening, feeling every groove and indent, sometimes planting kisses and caressing her if the memories that came with them seemed to hurt too much. 

Until one.

Julia’s eyes locked onto a small, circular scar, right below Carmen’s chest, towards the left side of her breastbone. It wasn’t particularly as big or as angry-looking as some of the others, only looking slightly sunken in and the size of a pen cap, but Carmen’s lighthearted attitude immediately seemed to fade away when she noticed which one Julia was staring at. Her brows knitted together at the sight of it, and she stroked the dime-shaped hole with her thumb.

“Columbia,” Carmen whispered, not giving a city to go with it. “It was a blunder. I got shot.”

Julia gasped, pulling away. Carmen gave her a sad smile, taking her hands with hers.

“It passed through the other side,” The superthief continued, shivering involuntarily, a haunted look present in her silver eyes. “Inches from hitting my heart. According to my crew, I was clinically dead for five minutes before they resuscitated me. I could’ve never woken up.”

“Does it- Does it still hurt?”

“Not anymore.” Carmen let out a wry, humorless chuckle. “Although it hurts to remember.”

Julia frowned deeply, the creases in her face deepening in concern and worry. It wasn’t a good feeling to realize that Carmen could’ve just… died there in the hospital. She could’ve died without disbanding VILE, she wouldn’t have been there to prevent past capers. 

She wouldn’t have been able to meet her.

Noticing Julia’s heartbroken expression, Carmen cupped her sides of her face lovingly.

“Hey, don’t cry,” She soothed, delicately brushing away a strand of ebony-black hair and propping her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Don’t feel sad about something you couldn’t control. I’m still here, aren’t I? I’m real.” Carmen wiped the unshed tears off Julia’s face.

“I’m okay,” Julia smiled back at her girlfriend, but her eyes told Carmen otherwise. “It’s just that it still hurts me to know about how you were misunderstood and twisted to become a villain, and yet you were fighting and getting hurt doing the right thing.” 

“I’m strong. Don’t worry about me.” Carmen answered, kissing her beloved on the forehead, and Julia melts into it, humming. “I’d take more than a bullet to protect what’s important to me. And it includes you, Jules.”

“I’d prefer if you didn’t,” Julia reprimands lightly, although a faint smile plays on her lips. “But I appreciate the offer.”

Carmen grins back, but for a moment she hesitates. “Does it bother you? To look at them?” Doubt began to cloud her eyes, and the words of an apology beginning to form on her tongue, but Julia stops her.

“It doesn’t,” She replies firmly. “They're a part of who you are, a part of you that shows how selfless and brave you are. Don't let people tell you otherwise, okay?"

"Alright."

“Every part of you is beautiful to me, and don’t you forget it, Carmen Sandiego.” She pulls Carmen closer, almost protectively, and she takes her in. From her long, auburn hair tumbling down her shoulders, to her scars decorating her warm brown skin like a canvas. Her eyes follow their path back to Carmen’s face and meets those brilliant silvery-grey eyes of hers, ones that held a soft luster to them under the dim sunlight streaming from the window.

Carmen smirks, and the luster turns into a sparkle as she returns Julia’s embrace. “I won’t.” 

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to spend a little while longer in bed.

**Author's Note:**

> Woop I'm back from hiatus


End file.
